Background: Perinatal asphyxia is one of the three major causes of neonatal morbidity and mortality, along with
prematurity and neonatal sepsis. The aim of the study was to identify the mortality risk factors associated with perinatal
asphyxia in a hospital of a developing country, in order to reduce neonatal mortality linked with this major public
health problem.
Methods: A retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted from 1 January 2019 to 31 October 2021 at the
neonatology unit of the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Pédiatrique Charles de Gaulle, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso
(West Africa). All newborns with an Apgar score of less than 7 at the 5 minute of birth were included. A bivariate followed by multivariate analysis along with logistic regression was used to identify the risk factors for death in asphyxiated newborns.
Results: The incidence of perinatal asphyxia was 22.3%, the case-fatality rate 29.9%, and the mortality rate 6.2%.
The risk factors identified for death were the mother’s occupation as a housewife (OR=2.27;p=0.01), lowbirthweight
of the newborn (OR=3.28;p=0.01), and severe hypoxicischemic encephalopathy (OR = 2.21;p= 0.04).
Conclusion: The continuum of care through the triptych of “pregnancy monitoring-codified delivery management postnatal care” must be strengthened and good quality care must be delivered to reduce the risk of perinatal asphyxia and related deaths.

Newborn; Neonatal resuscitation; Hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy; Neonatal mortality.